Peltola proposes corporate tax tied to worker pay in Senate race

Former Rep. Mary Peltola outlined a corporate tax proposal Monday that would tie business tax rates to worker wages and executive compensation ratios. The campaign frames the proposal as an answer to rising costs that force Alaskans to choose among groceries, fuel, childcare, housing, and energy.

The plan would lower corporate taxes for businesses that pay higher median wages and maintain smaller pay gaps between executives and workers. Companies where workers qualify for public assistance while executives receive multimillion-dollar bonuses would pay higher taxes.

Peltola wrote that workers' share of economic output has fallen from 67 cents per dollar in the 1950s and 1960s to below 58 cents today. CEO pay has increased by more than 1,000% since 1978, while worker pay has grown by approximately 33%, according to the essay.

The proposal includes training and hiring incentives for young workers and closes offshore tax loopholes. Peltola argues the plan would reduce the federal deficit by decreasing the number of families requiring federal assistance programs as wages rise.

Peltola cited Alaska as an example of the wage-affordability problem, writing that families across the state are choosing between groceries and heating fuel while young people who grew up in Alaska cannot afford to stay.

The corporate tax plan follows Peltola's May affordability plan, which included eliminating federal income taxes for working Alaskans earning less than $92,000 annually, ending taxes on Social Security benefits, freight-cost measures, and housing proposals.